About the artist

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, civil rights activist, actress, and pianist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career recording for Columbia Records. However, she achieved only modest success. Franklin found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "Respect", "Chain of Fools", "Think", " A Natural Woman", "I Never Loved a Man", and "I Say a Little Prayer", propelled Franklin past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as "The Queen of Soul".She continued to record acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lady Soul, Spirit in the Dark, Young, Gifted and Black, Amazing Grace, and Sparkle before experiencing problems with her record company. Franklin left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records. She appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers before releasing the successful albums Jump to It, Who's Zoomin' Who?, and Aretha on the Arista label.

Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is the thirty-eighth and final studio album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin and was released on October 17, 2014. It features ten covers of songs made famous by female recording artists.This was Aretha's first recording for RCA Records, her first studio album to be released under a major label in 11 years, and her first album since 1998 to be executive produced by Clive Davis, her boss at Arista Records, which has since folded into RCA. It is also her last studio album of entirely original recordings created prior to her death, as the subsequent 2017 album A Brand New Me features vintage vocal performances from the 1960s and 1970s paired with newer orchestral arrangements.Clive Davis called the album "purely and simply sensational" and said of Aretha Franklin, "She's on fire and vocally in absolutely peak form. What a thrill to see this peerless artist still showing the way, still sending shivers up your spine, still demonstrating that all contemporary music needs right now is the voice. What a voice."

This Christmas is the first Christmas album and thirty-sixth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was originally released on October 14, 2008, as a Borders Bookstore exclusive. The album was reissued in 2009 on DMI Records.Having failed to launch her own Detroit-based label, Aretha’s Records, she chose to release this album on DMI Records. The album peaked at #102 on the Billboard album chart. As of January 2013, it had reportedly sold 142,864 copies in the United States.

So Damn Happy is the thirty-fifth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Her first studio album in five years, it included the Grammy Award-winning track, "Wonderful". The album peaked at number 33 on US Billboard 200 and number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while reaching the top thirty of the Italian Albums Chart. Shortly after its release, Franklin left Arista after a stay of 23 years. She later announced plans to start her own Detroit-based record label, Aretha Records.

A Rose is Still a Rose is the thirty-fourth studio album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin. It was released on March 10, 1998 by Arista Records. Conceived after a longer hiatus and a complete departure from her previous studio album What You See Is What You Sweat, the album includes influences of 1990s hip hop as well as modern-day contemporary R&B and soul music. Throughout the project, Franklin worked with many famed hip hop producers and rappers, such as Lauryn Hill, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri, and Daryl Simmons. With the latter acts producing most of the album, A Rose Is Still a Rose deviated from the adult contemporary sound of Franklin's older work.Most critics praised the album, calling it a return to form for Franklin and ranking it alongside her best late career albums. A Rose Is Still a Rose was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, while its title track earned Franklin her fifth nomination in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category. Commercially, the album peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard 200, her highest peak since Who's Zoomin' Who?, and reached the top forty in Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

What You See Is What You Sweat is the thirty-third studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on June 25, 1991, by Arista Records. It peaked at #153 on Billboard's album chart, dropping off after seven weeks. This was Aretha's first new release in the Nielsen SoundScan era. According to them, this out-of-print disc sold a total of 180,139 copies in the USA.

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Otis Ray Redding Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, and talent scout. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. Redding's style of singing gained inspiration from the gospel music that preceded the genre. His singing style influenced many other soul artists of the 1960s. During his lifetime, his recordings were produced by Stax Records, based in Memphis, Tennessee.Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia, and at the age of 2, moved to Macon, Georgia. Redding quit school at age 15 to support his family, working with Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters, and by performing in talent shows at the historic Douglass Theatre in Macon, Georgia. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins's band, the Pinetoppers, with whom he toured the Southern states as a singer and driver. An unscheduled appearance on a Stax recording session led to a contract and his first single, "These Arms of Mine", in 1962.Stax released Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart, two years later.

Gladys Maria Knight, known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian and author. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest.Knight has recorded two number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles "Midnight Train to Georgia" and "That's What Friends Are For," eleven number-one R&B singles, and six number-one R&B albums. She has won seven Grammy Awards and is an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with The Pips. She also recorded the theme song for the 1989 James Bond film Licence To Kill. Knight is also listed on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Marvin Pentz Gaye was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Gaye helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, including "Ain't That Peculiar", "How Sweet It Is" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", and duet recordings with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross and Tammi Terrell, later earning the titles "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".During the 1970s, he recorded the albums What's Going On and Let's Get It On and became one of the first artists in Motown to break away from the reins of a production company. His later recordings influenced several contemporary R&B subgenres, such as quiet storm and neo soul. Following a period in Europe as a tax exile in the early 1980s, he released the 1982 Grammy Award-winning hit "Sexual Healing" and its parent album Midnight Love.On April 1, 1984, Gaye's father, Marvin Gay Sr., fatally shot him at their house in the West Adams district of Los Angeles.

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. A progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance, he is often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul". In a career that lasted 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres.Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He joined an R&B vocal group, the Gospel Starlighters founded by Bobby Byrd, in which he was the lead singer. First coming to national public attention in the late 1950s as a member of the singing group The Famous Flames with the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a tireless live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".

Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo composed of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner. The duo was once considered "one of the hottest, most durable, and potentially most explosive of all R&B ensembles".Their early works, including "A Fool in Love", "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", "I Idolize You" and "River Deep – Mountain High", became high points in the development of soul music, while their later works were noted for wildly interpretive re-arrangements of rock songs such as "I Want to Take You Higher" and "Proud Mary", the latter song for which they won a Grammy Award. They were also known for their often-ribald live performances, which were only matched by that of James Brown and the Famous Flames in terms of musical spectacle.The duo was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Etta James excelled at everything from gritty R&B and barrel-house blues to supper club jazz, sweet soul and traditional pop in a career spanning from the mid-1950s into the 2010s. She put her unique stamp on every song she touched. James could be as soaringly romantic as "At Last," as achingly wounded as "I'd Rather Go Blind," or as focused and determined as "Tell Mama."

Jamesetta Hawkins was a virtuoso who started performing publicly in church at the age of five before branching out into secular music. Discovered by Johnny Otis (who passed away the day before her), James landed a few big hits before being signed to Chess Records, where she struck gold with tough R&B cuts like "I Just Want To Make Love to You" and lush pop ballads such as "A Sunday Kind of Love." James, an incendiary concert performer who could out-rock any rocker, capably made the transition from '50s R&B to '60s soul, but her addictive personality damaged both her career and her personal life for a couple of decades.

By 1988, things had brightened for James considerably and she deftly proved that her timeless voice transcended any decade or genre straitjackets, as she began racking up Grammies, lifetime achievement awards and new legions of fans. Etta James never forgot to tell people how much she owed to Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. In fitting tribute, even before James passed away in 2012, her biggest fan, Adele, always made plain she carried a torch for her, keeping Etta’s presence alive for yet another pop music generation. Etta James was the rare artist who could connect with the emotional core of a song and sweep up the listener along with her, expressing the very emotions the rest of us just can't find words for.

William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief songwriter and producer. Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as the Five Chimes until 1972 when he announced a retirement from the group to focus on his role as Motown's vice president.However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year. Following the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left the company in 1990. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Robinson was awarded the 2016 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for his lifetime contributions to popular music.

Diana Ross is an American singer, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ross rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, which, during the 1960s, became Motown's most successful act, and are the best charting girl group in US history, as well as one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. The group released a record-setting twelve number-one hit singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, including "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", "Stop! In the Name of Love", "You Can't Hurry Love", "You Keep Me Hangin' On", "Love Child", and "Someday We'll Be Together".Following her departure from the Supremes in 1970, Ross released her eponymous debut solo album that same year, which contained the Top 20 Pop hit "Reach Out and Touch" and the number-one Pop hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". She later released the album Touch Me in the Morning in 1973; its title track reached number 1, as her second solo No. 1 hit.

The Temptations are an American vocal group who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Their work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music.Featuring five male vocalists and dancers, the group formed in 1960 in Detroit, Michigan under the name The Elgins. The founding members came from two rival Detroit vocal groups: Otis Williams, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and Melvin Franklin of Otis Williams & the Distants, and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffin, who was the lead vocalist on a number of the group's biggest hits, including "My Girl", "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", and "I Wish It Would Rain". Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as "Cloud Nine" and "Ball of Confusion".

Patti LaBelle is an American singer, actress, and entrepreneur. LaBelle began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and front woman of the vocal group, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. Following the group's name change to Labelle in the early 1970s, they released the iconic disco song "Lady Marmalade" and the group later became the first African-American vocal group to land the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.After the group split in 1976, LaBelle began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included the career-defining song, "You Are My Friend". LaBelle became a mainstream solo star in 1984 following the success of the singles, "If Only You Knew", "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up", with the latter two crossing over to pop audiences and becoming radio staples.Less than two years later, in 1986, LaBelle scored with the number-one album, Winner in You and the number-one duet single, "On My Own", with Michael McDonald. LaBelle eventually won a 1992 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her 1991 album, Burnin', followed by a second Grammy win for the live album, Live! One Night Only.

The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and are, to date, America's most successful vocal group with 12 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, the Supremes rivaled the Beatles in worldwide popularity, and it is said that their success made it possible for future African American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success.Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original group, are all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit. They formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes. Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as the Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, and Wilson carried on as a trio.

Albert Leornes Greene, often known as The Reverend Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Take Me to the River", "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happiness", and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together". Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, Green was referred to on the museum's site as being "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music". He has also been referred to as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers". Green was included in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, ranking at No. 65, as well as its list of the 100 Greatest Singers, at No. 14.

The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples, the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha, Pervis, and Mavis. Yvonne replaced her brother when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, and again in 1970. They are best known for their 1970s hits "Respect Yourself", "I'll Take You There", "If You're Ready", and "Let's Do It Again". While the family name is Staples, the group used "Staple" commercially.

Wilson Pickett was an American singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. Among his best-known hits are "In the Midnight Hour", "Land of 1,000 Dances", "Mustang Sally", and "Funky Broadway".Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, in recognition of his impact on songwriting and recording.

Solomon Burke was an American preacher and singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called "a key transitional figure bridging R&B and soul", and was known for his "prodigious output".He had a string of hits including "Cry to Me", "If You Need Me", "Got to Get You Off My Mind", "Down in the Valley" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love". Burke was referred to honorifically as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", "Bishop of Soul" and the "Muhammad Ali of soul". Due to his minimal chart success in comparison to other soul music greats such as James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding, Burke has been described as the genre's "most unfairly overlooked singer" of its golden age. Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler once referred to Burke as "the greatest male soul singer of all time".Burke's most famous recordings, which spanned five years in the early 1960s, bridged the gap between mainstream R&B and grittier R&B. Burke was "a singer whose smooth, powerful articulation and mingling of sacred and profane themes helped define soul music in the early 1960s."

Martha Rose Reeves is an American R&B and pop singer and former politician, and is the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. They scored over a dozen hit singles, including "Come and Get These Memories", "Nowhere to Run", "Heat Wave", "Jimmy Mack", and their signature "Dancing In The Street". From 2005 until 2009, Reeves served as an elected council woman for the city of Detroit, Michigan.